What is LINQ

LINQ is an acronym for Language Integrated Query, which is descriptive for where it's used and what it does. The Language Integrated part means that LINQ is part of programming language syntax. In particular, both C# and VB are languages that ship with .NET and have LINQ capabilities. Another programming language that supports LINQ is Delphi Prism. The other part of the definition, Query, explains what LINQ does; LINQ is used for querying data. Notice that I used the generic term "data" and didn't indicate what type of data. That's because LINQ can be used to query many different types of data, including relational, XML, and even objects. Another way to describe LINQ is that it is programming language syntax that is used to query data.
Note: In addition to a new language syntax, LINQ can be used via a fluent API that chains methods together. The bulk of this tutorial will concentrate on the C# language syntax that supports LINQ.

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